Minnesota State Wire

There were 32 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 8.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 679 deaths in the state. 19% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.6% were from cancer and 9.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 13.5% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	164
Heart disease	129	130
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	36
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	36	34
Alzheimer's disease	32	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	29	14
Diabetes mellitus	21	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	10
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	92	84